Jessie and I rode in a boat with Gitta from the BLM as our guide.
Before we had even pulled any weeds on Wednesday afternoon we found ourselves facing the most dangerous rapid on the Rogue River, Blossom rapids. Every year people attempt the rapids and die from small mistakes made while trying to manuver their rafts around the rocks. Most of these people are unfamiliar with the river. Below is a picture of one of our rafts going through Blossom rapids. All of our rowers were very experienced and we passed through without any trouble.
There have been a few movies filmed on the Rogue River, one notable flick is "The River Wild". In the movie, Meryl Streep must navigate the river in order to save her family and escape the dangerous Kevin Bacon. Below I play Meryl in "The Wild River Weeds".
Throughout the week we worked hard pulling weeds all day and slept by the banks of the river at night.
Thanks to the BLM trip coordinator we ate very well at night. Burritos, pasta and yummy sandwiches made us feel right at home in the wilderness.
The camping spots were all very beautiful but one spot we stayed in we had to wade through the water to get to our kitchen area. When back at home I was glad to have dry warm feet.
Jessica and I shared my tent which is the second from the right in the picture below.
Not only did we get to ride down the river and pull lots of weeds but we were able to try rowing as well. Below Jessica tries to navigate the river while her BLM partners fear for their lives.
Trying my hand at rowing the heavy boat.
Along the river it was fun to discover hidden places that can only be found while on the river. There were creeks that poured over rocks and into the river and canyon walls with brightly colored wild flowers growing out of the rocks, we even saw a few bald eagles fishing.
Thursday night we set up camp near the Rogue River hiking trail.
Near our campsite Tate Creek emptied into the Rogue. The creek is beautiful with large rocks to climb on and moss covered trees bordering the blue-green water.
Up the creek almost a mile the water pours over a rock face and into a deep pool. The water has worn away at the rock creating a smooth natural slide. People have attached ropes on the side of the rocks so anyone can easily climb up and slide down into the pool.
How to SLIDE:
The water was cool and refreshing and the area around the slide was like a tropical paradise. Maybe not quite tropical, but a paradise never the less.
Jessie, Jessica and me ready to slide.
We got a lot of weed pulling accomplished on the float. Most of what we pulled was yellow star thistle and knapweed.
Each boat was loaded with many bags of weeds along with all of our camping gear.
Now I'm ready to take kayaks out on the river and put my navigating skills to the test. This weekend Megan and I are going to practice on the smaller Illinois river and work our way up to the Rogue. I'll report back on how it goes!
